Hello world!

After several false starts, I have finally set up a “permanent” home for a blog. Contrary to my earlier instincts as a software engineer, I am going mainstream and using WordPress. My previous attempts to develop a semi-custom (or an least customizable) site resulted in my spending more time working on the site than on the content. I’m going to try to focus on content this time.

One thing I will be doing that is against the recommendation of most “how to do blogging right” experts, is that I will be blogging about several unrelated topics. Hopefully, a few of my readers will find something of interest in more that one category. If, however, you want to stick with one, I will be putting my posts into several different categories. This list will change over time, but for now, I have set up the following categories:

Software Development

My full-time job and primary hobby is computer programming. Over the years, I have worked in many languages on many platforms writing everything from OS kernels, to desktop applications, to web sites. My current work is primarily in the area of desktop and web applications using Microsoft technologies. This includes C#, .NET, WPF, ASP.NET MVC, JavaScript, jQuery, HTML5, CSS 3, etc.

Electronics

I started dabbling in electronics when I was still a child. My first “real” job was as an Automatic Flight Control Systems Specialist (autopilot technician) in the U.S. Air Force. Starting in the 1990s, hobby electronics became somewhat more difficult, as the world was moving toward surface-mounted components, DSP, custom ICs, etc. More recently, there has been a real resurgence in the hobby electronics world (a.k.a. the Maker movement). Extremely low-cost microcontrollers like those used in the Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards (and many others) has opened up a world of possibilities for fun and educational projects that would have been too expensive or complicated just a few years ago.

Pro Audio

A couple of years ago, I picked up a part-time gig as a sound engineer for a local band. That band is no longer around, but I still have a decent PA system and occasionally provide sound for small solo acts. I have a pretty solid understanding of audio, acoustics, electronics, etc., but am still new to real-world sound engineering. I have tinkered with home recording in the past, so there may be an occasional post about that, too.

Politics

I try to avoid politics in everyday conversation, but I do have many thoughts on the subject I would like to share. I’ve started an outline for a book to be called “Reinventing Society” where I plan to take a close look at the role of government in society. I will post various parts of that effort here to get some feedback from readers. Hopefully you will find it enlightening.

Over time, I plan on adding some separate pages to cover some of my previous and current software projects, as well as any Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile apps that I release (they’re in the works…more details later).